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November 22, 2004
NOVEMBER 22 IS THE DAY FOR CDC'S AUDIO CONFERENCE ABOUT INFLUENZA VACCINE
AND ANTIVIRALS FOR PERSONS WITH HIV/AIDS

CDC recently announced that its audio conference about the "2004-2005
Guidelines: Influenza Vaccine/Antivirals for Persons Living with HIV/AIDS"
is scheduled for today, November 22, from 7PM to 8PM ET. No registration is
required.

The conference is intended for clinicians and organizations that provide
care for persons living with HIV/AIDS. Speakers include the following:
Raymond Strikas, MD, NIP, CDC; Scott Harper, MD, Division of Viral Diseases,
National Center for Infectious Diseases, CDC; and Ida Onorato, MD, National
Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, CDC.

Here are the call-in instructions:

Call in 5-10 minutes before the conference
start time

The U.S. dial-in number is (800) 369-3302

When requested, provide this passcode: FLU

Place phones and background music on mute

Join the audio conference silently

Do not use cellular phones

Very important: Do not place your phone on
hold before or during this call

Participants may fax or phone in their
questions during the conference; questions submitted by email will not be
accepted. To submit questions by fax, use the fax number provided by the
moderator during the conference. Mark faxes "Attention: Audio
Conference-FLU."

CDC published "Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule--United States,
October 2004-September 2005" as an MMWR QuickGuide in the November 19 issue
of MMWR. The article is reprinted below in its entirety, excluding
references and two figures.

***********************

CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) annually reviews
the recommended Adult Immunization Schedule to ensure that the schedule
reflects current recommendations for the use of licensed vaccines. In June
2004, ACIP approved the Adult Immunization Schedule for October
2004-September 2005. This schedule has also been approved by the American
Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists.

Changes in the Schedule for October 2004-September 2005

The 2004-2005 schedule differs from the previous schedule as follows:

Both figures now provide a separate row
for each vaccine.

Healthcare workers have been added to
the figure that provides immunization recommendations by medical
indications and other conditions.

Healthcare workers were added to the Adult
Immunization Schedule in response to provider requests; this change should
facilitate assessment of the vaccination status of healthcare workers and
administration of needed vaccinations. In 2002, 38.4% of healthcare workers
reported influenza vaccination, and 62.3% reported having completed
hepatitis B vaccination series (National Health Interview Survey, CDC,
unpublished data, 2003). Influenza vaccination of healthcare workers is an
important preventive measure for persons at high risk for complications from
influenza infection. Healthcare workers involved in direct patient care are
among the priority groups recommended to receive influenza vaccination for
the 2004-05 influenza season, despite the vaccine shortage.

The Adult Immunization Schedule is available in English and Spanish at
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/recs/adult-schedule.htm [IAC EXPRESS editor's
note: According to recent information from NIP, the Adult Immunization
Schedule will be available in English at the above web address in late
November and will be available in Spanish in late January 2005.] General
information about adult immunization, including recommendations concerning
vaccination of persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other
immunosuppressive conditions, is available from state and local health
departments and from the National Immunization Program at
http://www.cdc.gov/nip Vaccine
information statements are available at
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/publications/vis ACIP statements for each
recommended vaccine can be viewed, downloaded, and printed from CDC's
National Immunization Program at
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/publications/acip-list.htm Instructions for
reporting adverse events after vaccination to the Vaccine Adverse Event
Reporting System (VAERS) are available at
http://www.vaers.org or by telephone, (800) 822-7967.

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November 22, 2004
NEW: NOVEMBER ISSUE OF THE IMMUNIZATION WORKS ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER NOW
AVAILABLE ON CDC'S WEBSITE

The November issue of "Immunization Works!" a monthly email newsletter
published by CDC, is available on NIP's website. The newsletter offers
members of the immunization community non-proprietary information about
current topics. CDC encourages its wide dissemination.

Some of the information in the November issue has already appeared in
previous issues of "IAC EXPRESS." Following is the text of four articles we
have not covered.

************************

UPDATE ON 2004-2005 FLU VACCINE SHORTAGE: On October 5, 2004, CDC was
notified by Chiron Corporation that none of its influenza vaccine (Fluvirin)
would be available for distribution in the United States for the 2004–05
influenza season. Chiron was to make 46-48 million doses of the vaccine for
the United States. This action reduced the expected supply of trivalent
inactivated vaccine (flu shot) available in the United States for the
2004–05 influenza season by approximately one half.

Aventis Pasteur had already shipped 33 million of its expected total 58
million vaccine doses prior to Chiron's announcement. The remaining 25
million doses have been allocated at a rate of about 3 million doses per
week--or about 14 million doses--since October 11, under a joint
distribution plan developed by CDC and Aventis.

On November 9, working closely with public health officials nationwide, the
CDC announced plans to distribute the remaining 10.6 million doses of
Aventis Pasteur influenza vaccine based upon decisions made by state health
departments, which will then help ensure the doses reach those people at
highest risk for complications from influenza. The vaccine will be
distributed over several weeks through December and into January.

Under the outlined plan, states and territories will be receiving 100
percent of any orders they had originally placed under federal, state, and
multi-state contracts. Overall, this accounts for 3.4 million doses of
vaccine. The distribution plan for the 7.2 million doses takes into account
three things: (1) the number of high-priority individuals in the state, (2)
the number of doses the state has already received and (3) the state's unmet
needs. In the coming weeks, another 1.3 million doses of pediatric vaccine
will be allocated to states using the same approach.

This year's expected vaccine supply also includes 3 million doses of FluMist,
which is approved for use by healthy people between the ages of 5 and 49. In
addition, CDC is continuing to work with HHS and the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) on the possibility of obtaining several million doses
of foreign-produced influenza vaccine for use in the United States this
influenza season. These vaccines are not currently licensed for use in the
U.S., but if deemed safe by the FDA, could be used under an "investigational
new drug" protocol that meets FDA requirements. To ensure the safety of this
flu vaccine, FDA inspectors are visiting the overseas plants of these
manufacturers.

In addition, a supply of antiviral drugs to treat influenza will be
available this flu season. Supplies of antiviral drugs are available through
private health providers, and the federal government has purchased a
stockpile of antiviral drugs to treat more than 7 million people. FDA has
estimated that approximately 40 million people could be treated this flu
season with the antiviral drugs available.

To provide more information to health care professionals and the public
about influenza and influenza vaccine, CDC has launched (800) CDC-INFO
[232-4636], a new 24/7 central telephone hotline available in English and
Spanish. This number will enable people to obtain information from CDC. The
number for hearing impaired is (800) 243-7889 (TTY/TDD).

CDC also has available a wealth of resources to help educate health care
professionals and consumers. Some of these materials include:

ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON IMMUNIZATION PRACTICES MEETING: The Advisory Committee
on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met October 27-28, 2004, in Atlanta,
Georgia. Along with discussion of the influenza vaccine shortage, outlined
above, the ACIP approved the Harmonized Childhood and Adolescent
Immunization Schedule for 2005. No policy changes have occurred since the
schedule was last published in April 2004 that require revisions of the
schedule. Therefore, ACIP voted to approve a 2005 schedule that is identical
to that published in the MMWR in April 2004 and in the Red Book 2003.

NEW IMMUNIZATION COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS ANNOUNCED: CDC's National
Immunization Program recently awarded new cooperative agreements to five
organizations. The first set of awards will support coalition building and
information dissemination activities for two organizations. The Academy for
Educational Development (AED) will conduct a needs assessment of coalitions
and will develop skills-based trainings for coalition members. The
Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) will maintain immunization listserves
and websites and publish and disseminate immunization newsletters. The
second set of awards will support activities in minority communities. The
three awardees--the National Asian Women's Health Organization (NAWHO), the
Black Women's Health Imperative (BWHI), and the Migrant Clinicians Network (MCN)--will
educate healthcare providers about cultural barriers to immunizations and
will create and distribute linguistically appropriate and culturally
sensitive immunization materials to public audiences. Information about
future CDC funding opportunities can be found on http://www.cdc.gov/funding.htm
or in the Federal Register.

MEETINGS, CONFERENCES, AND RESOURCES

FREE IMMUNIZATION-RELATED BROCHURES: For a limited time, the National
Immunization Program has a number of immunization brochures available for
health care professionals and consumers that can be ordered in large
quantities. These brochures include topics such as VFC, Vaccine Safety,
Schools, Registries and Traveler's Health. Some Spanish resources are also
available. Supplies are limited. Visit
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/publications/default.htm and click on CDC
Online Order Form. Additional resources are also listed. These resources are
free of charge, and there is no cost for shipping.

CDC recently revised the VIS for yellow fever vaccine and posted it on the
NIP website; the issue date is 11/9/04. Changes include the following:

In the section titled "Who should
NOT get yellow fever vaccine?" persons who have had their thymus
gland removed have been added to the list of those who should check
with their doctor before receiving yellow fever vaccine.

In the section titled "How can I
learn more?" interested persons are now encouraged to access CDC's
Traveler's Health website for further information.

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November 22, 2004
NEW VIS TRANSLATION: SPANISH VERSION OF THE SUPPLEMENT TO THE INACTIVATED
INFULENZA VACCINE VIS NOW ON IAC'S WEBSITE

IAC recently posted on its website a Spanish-language version of CDC's
supplement to the VIS for trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV). IAC
gratefully acknowledges the California Department of Health Services for the
translation.

Titled "Inactivated Influenza Vaccine: 2004-2005 Supplement--Vaccine
Shortage," the one-page supplement lists the people who should get influenza
vaccine during the current vaccine shortage; its issue date is 10/29/04. The
supplement is intended to be used with the VIS for TIV, which is dated
5/24/04.

To obtain it in 16 additional languages, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/vis/index.htm#influenza Click on the
language(s) you want.

For information about the use of VISs, and for VISs in a total of 32
languages, visit IAC's VIS web section at http://www.immunize.org/vis
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November 22, 2004
UPDATED: CDC CONTINUES TO SUPPLEMENT ITS WEBSITE WITH
INFORMATION RELATED TO THE INFLUENZA VACCINE SHORTAGE

CDC recently updated its website with several documents related
to the influenza vaccine shortage. Following are links to the
new information.

(1) The two-page professional-education piece "Guidelines &
Recommendations: 2004-05 Interim Guidance for the Use of Masks
to Control Influenza Transmission" outlines how masks can be
used in healthcare and other settings with symptomatic and
asymptomatic individuals.

(2) The three-page document "Key Facts About Flu Vaccine" gives
a succinct overview of both the trivalent inactivated influenza
vaccine (TIV) and the live attenuated intranasal vaccine (LAIV).
It was recently updated; the updated version is available in
English and Spanish.

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November 22, 2004
NEW: NOVEMBER ISSUE OF HEP EXPRESS ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER NOW
AVAILABLE ON IAC'S WEBSITE

The November issue of HEP EXPRESS, an electronic newsletter
published by IAC, is now available online. HEP EXPRESS is
intended for health and social service professionals involved in
the prevention and treatment of viral hepatitis. The November
issue includes articles on the following:

CDC's newly created viral hepatitis slide show for high
school students

New York state's initiative to provide free hepatitis B
vaccine to hospitals that adopt a universal birth-dose policy

Online availability of a report on Illinois hospital practices
related to the hepatitis B birth dose

"Hepatitis B Shots Are Recommended for All New Babies" is a
brochure targeted at expectant or new parents who might question
the need for, or timing of, infant vaccination against HBV
[hepatitis B virus].

To access a ready-to-copy (PDF) version of "Hepatitis B Shots
Are Recommended for All New Babies," go to:http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4110bab.pdf

To access a web-text (HTML) version of it, go to:http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4110bab.htm

"Hepatitis B Information for Asian and Pacific Islander
Americans" was created to answer the questions of Asian and
Pacific Islander Americans (APIA), including immigrants and
refugees, as well as persons of APIA descent born in the United
States. The revised version includes an updated list of related
organizations that readers might wish to contact.

To access a ready-to-copy (PDF) version of "Hepatitis B
Information for Asian and Pacific Islander Americans," go to:http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/4190apia.pdf

To access a web-text (HTML) version of it, go to:http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/4190apia.htm
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November 22, 2004
BEFORE THE HOLIDAY RUSH, BE SURE TO REGISTER FOR CDC'S
2005 NATIONAL IMMUNIZATION CONFERENCE

Take time NOW--before you start juggling work with Thanksgiving
and a long string of winter holiday celebrations--to register
for CDC's 2005 National Immunization Conference. Scheduled for
March 21-24, 2005, in Washington, DC, the conference will give
you a chance to get recharged and revitalized by getting
together with old friends and colleagues, meeting people you
know only through phone conversations and email messages,
touring the conference exhibit space, and getting fresh ideas
from poster sessions, workshops, and plenary meetings. You don't
want to miss it!